La Russa, 73, and Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, 61, have known each other for decades. The two worked together for the Chicago White Sox in the 1970s and 1980s, when La Russa managed the team and Dombrowski worked in the front office.

After 33 years as a manager for the White Sox, Oakland A's and Saint Louis Cardinals, La Russa spent the last four years working as a baseball analyst in the Arizona Diamondbacks front office. He stepped down from that role last week.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, announced that manager John Farrell would not return after the team's ALDS loss to the Houston Astros. They have since hired former Houston Astros bench coach and major league ballplayer Alex Cora to serve as their new manager. The team named Ron Roenick as their bench coach on Thursday, as well as choosing Tom Goodwin as first base coach and outfield instructor, and Carlos Febles as third base coach and infield instructor.